The Blue Knight
by white fate
Summary: A hero was needed; He was a sly character who managed to keep the over-taxed poor from starvation. His legend still roams the streets of Venice after 100 years- the exorcists have arrived. What roll will they play in the tale of The Blue Knight? KanxLena
1. Chapter 1

A re-written version was due. :)

As always, Enjoy.

**Disclaimer- D.Gray-Man and all its characters belong to Hoshino Katsura. No Profit was made from writing this story, I own nothing but the tale of the blue knight, the plot of this story, fictional Venice, Italy, and the towns people themselves.**

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**The Blue Knight**

_"The Knight's bones are dust, And his good sword rust; His soul is with the saints, I trust." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge_

* * *

A lone figure walked down the silent dark aisle of a church. As he walked, his boots echoed through the church each time he stepped. It had come to his conclusion that perhaps it was time to take on his true responsibility to its fullest. He sighed as he removed his hood, revealing long locks of raven hair, and stared at what he held in his hands; a sword. He knelt down on his knees, holding out his sword as though giving an offering, and looked up at the rose cross above him.

"I believe it's time I've accepted my destiny."

An essence of blue glowed off the sword almost immediately after he had released his words.

_Innocence_

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Chapter 1

He kept a stiff posture throughout the whole bandaging. He had never asked her for any help, and yet here she was, helping him when he didn't need it. Through all the protest, he'd just give in to her every word, and to be honest, he found that quality of hers quite annoying.

"Kanda, you know better than to just run off. That's the whole point of us going on the mission together." Although she had been behind him, he could already imagine the face she must have had on; pissed. Her tone had been harsh with a hint of worry.

But more harshness.

She continued bandaging him up as he remained silent. He felt her warm finger tips brush against his back where the Akuma had managed to scratch him, leaving a deep wound as proof. As much as he would have liked her to quit mothering him, to his dismay, he actually liked it. As he began shaking off the weird sensation he received by her touch, her face had been a few inches away from his.

"All done." She smiled, as if forgetting what she had said to him before. "But you still haven't commented on what I said." He wasn't that lucky.

"Lenalee, what exactly do you want me to say." He furrowed his brow; who did she think she was scolding him like that, his mother?

Sighing, the girl restrained herself from hitting him, wondering where her clipboard was when she needed it. "Nothing Kanda, I just hope that you don't repeat this, the finders and I were worried where you ran off to. This is Venice. I haven't been here long enough to search for you without getting lost. And guess what? I did get lost…" She paused; violet eyes met with gray ones. "And if it weren't for you coming towards me out of nowhere, I would have been worse off outnumbered."

"And I receive a scolding after." He snapped, the stare beginning to intensify between the two. He hadn't known when their eyes had decided to act as if they were stuck, or if this was a type of "who backs-out first" kind of thing.

"YUU-CHAN!" Startled at the noise, the two quickly turned to look who had so carelessly entered, without even knocking. The door had slammed open; entering Lavi, bookman jr.

Of course, they should have known, only Lavi would do that.

"Yo! You guys have been gone far too long, Komui had assumed the mission had been more difficult than planned, so he sent us." The boy grinned, perhaps proud of the way he entered. Behind him was Allen Walker, the British boy.

"Allen-kun!" She grinned as she dashed toward the boy and embraced him.

As the two began to catch up, Lavi walked towards where Kanda was and took a seat next to him on the made bed. Kanda had taken a glance at the two, and looked at Lavi.

"So…what went on here?" Lavi arched his brows up and down.

"Don't be stupid."

"I mean your shirts off, and you two were in the room on a bed…alone."

Kanda picked Muugen up and glared at the red-head, his warning given.

--

He hadn't known exactly what they were all doing. It was pointless. Instead of tracking down the possible innocence in the city, they were wasting time that they would never get back, "sight-seeing". He hadn't found anything at all that amusing. All he saw were boats and water… lots of water. The day had been sunny and much to his dismay, the day was young. He silently groaned in annoyance. Things always managed to get worse for him whenever that Moyashi managed to appear.

Just to have that thing in his presence had been unpleasant. Now he was "sight-seeing" with him. He had been officially convinced that someone up there hadn't liked him.

"Lenalee, look at the gondola!" The Moyashi exclaimed while pointing at the boat.

_'So that's what they're called.'_ Kanda glanced at the boat Walker had pointed too. It wasn't all that special ether, it looked just like the rest of them.

Lavi hadn't looked as amused as he was a while ago and with an attempt to lift his boredom, he glanced toward a crowd of people. "What's all the commotion going on there?" Curiosity got the best of him, and they all followed, even Kanda.

--

"COME ONE, COME ALL! THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE BLUE KNIGHT'S FESTIVAL! THE PREPERATIONS WILL SOON BE COMPLETED! SOON WE MAY ALL CELEBRATE ON THE DAY OF HIS BIRTH, TO HONOR HIS HEROIC DEEDS TO THE CITY OF VENICE, AS PROTECTER OF THE POOR. BUT MOST OF ALL, FOR HIS GREATEST DEED OF ALL, HIS SACRIFISE FOR THE PRINCESS OF ITALIA, AND THIS WONDERFUL CITY WE ALL CALL HOME, VENESIA!!"

Cheers roared throughout the crowd, ranging from young children to elders. All faces had brightened but one. He moved into the center and protested, "If you call a knight who stole the princess from the prince's arms a hero, you must be crazy!" as he began, all cheers had halted, and smiles had turned into frowns. "He was a fraud I tell you!"

There were gasps heard throughout the crowd. Undoubtedly this knight had at one point been a symbol of hope to the city and its towns.

"Of course, the Prince was rotten and evil!" The elder man who had announced the festival angrily reacted.

"Well I for one believe none of you peasants should celebrate. He's been dead for 100 years! Good riddance I say!" The man shook his fist, glaring at all who dared to celebrate such a stupidity. "A thief was all he was! And to whom the riches his hands stole went to? All of you poor bastards!" With that, the man who had protested against the Blue Knight's honoring had marched off. The crowd hadn't looked very pleased due to the bashing of their hero, but faces were lifting as they laid eyes on a certain exorcist.

"My my, why young man…could it be? The blue knight? It couldn't possibly be! He's…he's alive!" The elder man had placed his shaking hand on Kanda's cheek, as a manner of making sure he hadn't been imagining things.

Kanda's instinct had reacted as he removed the old man's hand away from his face. He eyed the crowd that had suddenly formed a circle, him being the center.

The adults of the crowd that had gathered around Kanda had looked at him as if they had been hallucinating while the children looked at Kanda in awe and admiration due to the tales they were told of their hero. The exorcists looked at Kanda in surprise, while Kanda himself was annoyed with the people around him. Hadn't they heard what the other man had said a while back?

_The knight is dead, and has been down under for 100 years._

He couldn't believe the crazy old man's words. Him, being accused of being this so called "Blue Knight"? Everything the man had described of The Blue Knight had been the complete opposite of him. He hadn't recalled stealing for the poor, or living for 100 plus years. And when was he born, just yesterday? They were honoring a dead guy, as in, not living anymore. How could they possibly assume such a stupidity?

"Oh my goodness, it is him! Our hero has returned!" The elder had completely ignored the fact that Kanda slapped his hand away, and embraced Kanda."Our knight has returned!"

Kanda twitched as the crowd cheered. They all wanted to touch what they believed had been their hero, as a reassurance that he had finally returned. These people were crazy, and it didn't help that the exorcists began to giggle.

At the moment, his conclusion of them all had been simply moronic.

--

"Thank you for allowing us to come to your home Mr…" Lenalee trailed off considering he hadn't introduced himself yet. The elder man had literally begged them to come to his home; they themselves introduced themselves while he failed to do so.

"Oh excuse me Miss Lenalee, it was very rude of me to not introduce myself to you all yet! Well, I am Alberto Lombardi! It's a pleasure to have you all in my home!" He grinned as he fiddled with his dark mustache. He had the appearance of what most people would assume an Italian man would look like, he had an aging mustache, accompanied by a white beard, fairly short, a tad chubby, a full head of gray hair, and he happened to have a certain vibe added to him. His grin revealed his aging features.

"Yes, Mr. Lombardi, thank you for the invitation to dinner!" She smiled in gratitude. Alberto had by then held her seat out so that she could sit. They all took a seat, minus Kanda.

"Yuu! Take a seat! You're being rude!" Lavi patted the chair next to him in an attempt to get him to sit. In return, he received a glare from Kanda, who had ignored his plea to sit.

"Now Mr. Kanda, please excuse my reaction to your striking resemblance to the blue knight. My apologies to the embarrassment! Our town has been receiving strange happenings as of lately. The whole town to be honest is going through a depression era, and we need our hero back, it was just reaction my boy…" He took a glance at them all, "And you all must be the exorcists sent for the mission."

"How did you know?" Allen's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the man to know they were exorcists, they had been dressed in simple clothes, and they in no way had resembled that they were exorcists.

"Well Mr. Exorcist, when you're as old as dirt, you can just tell." He smiled. "I may not be an exorcist myself, but I have seen things throughout the ruins of this city that I believe no human should ever witness."

"What happened?" Lavi edged on his seat, intrigued that this man with no innocence in hand, has lived to tell his tale of a possible encounters with Akuma.

He sighed as he stood from his seat, "My boy, it's hardly of any importance for the time being." The tension in the room had lifted as soon as Alberto announced, "Who's up for some food?" Everyone but Kanda had dismissed Alberto's failure to answer, and Kanda found himself grabbed by Lavi to take a seat.

"Food!" Allen exclaimed in joy as he eyed the food, a few sparkles surrounding what was considered heavenly to the British boy. It was an extravagant sight, everything from spaghetti to Italian bread. The aromas lifted in the air, triggering drool from them all.

Kanda glanced at the food, and eyed Allen. He dismissed the moyashi's stupidity, and found himself eyeing what resembled soba, only dry and reddish. What it was he actually wasn't sure of, and he was slightly timid of trying it. Ever since he had found his love in Soba that was about all he ate. Lenalee quickly noted, and giggled and Kanda's hesitation.

"What?" Kanda asked the girl that had been sitting in front of him, giggling like there was something to giggle at. Allen and Lavi at the time had been talking about something that had been drained from Kanda's ears; all he heard was Lenalee's girlish giggles.

"You're scared of spaghetti." She smiled as she slurped her own spaghetti. Before Kanda could snap back at her, Alberto cut in, seriousness was in his voice.

"Now, exorcists, I ask of you all a favor." He started as he watched them all turn towards him. "I believe that you can all be of use here for your mission, and I would be honored if I could be of any assistance." He smiled as he continued, "We'll need you all to verify whether or not this deals with innocence…" Alberto paused once more and turned to Kanda, "That is where you come in, Mr. Kanda."

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**A/N-** As promised, a re-written version of this story has arrived. I hope that there aren't as many mistakes this time, and I hope that if you start reading, you'll see it through the end, as I will write it through until the end.

Reviews are always Appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Enjoy. :)

**Disclaimer- D.Gray-Man and all its characters belong to Hoshino Katsura. No Profit was made from writing this story, I own nothing but the tale of the blue knight, the plot of this story, fictional Venice, Italy, and the towns people themselves.**

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"_A Knight must accept his responsibilities, for his actions will affect those he serves."_

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Chapter 2

"You want me to what?" Kanda stood from his chair, baffled by the words that had just come out of the old man's mouth. All eyes had been on him at that moment. Even the food had been ignored.

"Well, maybe you'll understand what he's trying to explain to you if he'd tell you the knight's tale." Lavi returned his eyes to Alberto.

Alberto took this as a cue, "Allow me to tell you the entire tale." There was a pause and Lavi, Allen, and Lenalee had by then been on the edges of their seats, anticipating the tale of the blue knight.

"Long ago, there lived a young nameless hero whom watched over our city as if it were his own. All the peasants throughout the land admired him for his sly tactics in stealing from the rich, and giving all he took to the poor. He wasn't at all a bandit, more or so the opposite, due to him not keeping anything at all. Rather than keeping his rewards all to himself, he gave it all to the over-taxed poor. The royal family of course had loathed him, for thanks to him, they were losing tax money little by little, and the rich as well shared the amount of dislike towards him. For if you were so wealthy, and you were losing it to the poor none the less, of course you'd be more enraged!

"Our hero had roamed the ruins of Venice with his eye-mask, boots, his sword, and of course, his equally sly cat. In a time of need for such a hero, he arrived. He slayed 100 mysterious monsters in one night, managed to keep the poor from starvation, and yet he had never asked for anything in return. No one but the princess had the chance to lay their eyes on his true face, or had the chance to know his true name, but no one really needed to know. His kindness to the less-fortunate had been enough. His self-less attitude and public service gained him the association with the word "knight", while his sword that had assisted him in saving countless lives had gained the title, "blue". So, our nameless hero, to his people, has always been referred to as "The Blue Knight"."

They began to clap as Alberto finished. "Now, this isn't the full story. A summary if you will. As for the mysterious monsters, I believe those are referred to Akuma. By this I mean he sliced them up whenever they appeared in the city."

"He sounds like a true believer in equality." Lenalee's face brightened of the thought. "Along with numerous Akuma taken down in one night, by him alone!"

"Wow." Lavi and Allen said in unition.

Kanda hadn't looked too amused. "So you want me to dress up as this blue knight guy on the day of his festival." He didn't like the sound of the words he had just released.

"Yes, and we'll need you to make the people believe that you are him." Alberto paused. "You are the perfect candidate for this. You look like him; all you have to do is make them believe it. I've already helped you out by pointing out to them all that you must be him."

"So that was the whole point of the commotion!" Allen exclaimed as he looked from Alberto to Kanda. "But Kanda…a knight?" Allen couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, Lavi burst into laughter as well.

Kanda ignored Allen's comment. They all continued to eat while Kanda stood and leaned on the wall, ignoring them as much as he could. He realized that Lenalee had been staring at something, perhaps lost in a trail a thought. Allen had been asking for thirds and Lavi had been discussing a few things with them all, occasionally taking a bite of food. Alberto hadn't been present at the table.

The Italian elder came back into the room, with a frown on his face. "Mr. Allen and Mr. Lavi, please come with me." The two had wiped their mouths and joined the Italian man wherever he was going.

Lenalee glanced at Kanda with a confused look, and in return he expressed through his face that he couldn't have cared less.

--

"Why are you guys leaving so soon?" Lenalee looked at Allen and Lavi, "You just arrived!"

"We believe that 3 exorcists on the job will be enough." Allen turned to Lavi. Lavi had then joined the exorcists that were staying.

"What about you?" Lenalee's face saddened. Everyone but him was staying. She hadn't seen him in so long, and here they were, separating her friend from her, again.

"He is needed in England." Alberto announced, "Mr. Komui's orders!"

Finally, Kanda thought. What was Komui trying? That he, Kanda, needed that Moyashi's help? Komui must've dreamt it. Only in a stupid person's dreams would he ever need the Moyashi of all people to assist him throughout this or any mission.

"Well, I should be leaving; the gondola to the train station is soon to arrive." Allen opened the door, "It was a pleasure Alberto."

"Anytime!" Alberto grinned.

"Make sure you guys resolve this case, and quickly." Allen looked at them all and smiled, "Have fun being a knight Kanda."

Kanda glared at him, but Allen ignored him and turned his attention to them all. "Good luck."

"Be careful Allen!" Lenalee hugged him, and smiled.

"Take care, Allen!" Lavi grinned.

They turned to see if Kanda would at least say his farewell, but they must have been expecting too much. Kanda hadn't looked all the interested in Allen. He had that certain attitude towards Allen that if he jumped off a cliff, he wouldn't give much of a damn.

He left, and as soon as they stepped out, the sky had begun to cry.

--

It had become fairly late that night and instead of staying at the hotel; they found themselves bunking in Alberto's home. Before he had showed them to their rooms, he gave them a tour of his home. He had many paintings hung, some of which seemed pretty dark for such a cheerful elder man to have. One looked as though it was a painting of their nameless hero. It was a fairly large home. They started from the dining room, filled with beautiful furniture mostly furnished with flower prints. The halls were long and led them to even larger rooms, ranging from the master bedroom to restrooms. They had been to every room minus one.

"What's in that room?" Lavi asked as he pointed to the large door, accompanied by a large lock.

"Oh, that room. Don't worry about it my boy." Alberto glanced at the door. "Shall we continue on towards your rooms?"

The elder man continued to walk down the long hall as the exorcists took one final glance at the door, shrugged and continued walking.

--

"And this is your room Miss. Lenalee." He opened it. "This was my daughter's room, I hope you like the color pink."

"Thank you very much…" Lenalee paused as she looked around the room. It had been fairly simple compared to the extravagant rooms that they had seen while on the tour. It was a fading shade of pink, a bed, and a mirror. "Where is she now, if you don't mind me asking?"

"She died long ago…" he stared at the room as if he were in a trance. "Please, if you need anything at all, do ask!" He disappeared into the dark halls, as Lenalee's eyes followed the only source of light, his candle.

--

Kanda looked around the room he had been given. It was fairly simple, and to his knowledge, Lenalee was in the room to his right, and Lavi's was across from his.

The room that they had been denied access to had managed to bother him all of a sudden. What was so secretive that in deserved a lock as big as his hand? He sat on the bed's edge and was thinking of possible things that could be in there.

"Che, I'll find out eventually." With that, he grabbed his exorcist coat and left the house through the only window in his room.

--

He looked around the silent town; no soul was out on the foggy night. The rain had managed to stiffen into a drizzle. The only noises heard were rustling tree branches. He stared at the water's gentle waves. It had been a full moon out and it brightened the water, allowing a few sparkles here and there. He sat at the edge of a stone port and stared at his reflection. The water was as clear as a mirror.

He stood after a few seconds. He had a lot on his mind; it didn't help that now he had to pretend to be something that he wasn't. He found it strange that a town would believe that the blue knight would still be alive after 100 years. Perhaps these people were dumber than he gave them credit for. They all made Mr. Lombardi seem as though he was actually sane.

He decided to explore these ruins and alleys Alberto had talked of, and disappeared into the alleys.

--

The next morning, the exorcists awoke to find breakfast set on the table. Lenalee found a note and a box from Alberto, which she read aloud;

"_Fellow exorcists,_

_I had some business to attend to in order to prepare for The Blue Knight's festival. Do enjoy the food, and I'll see you no later than dinner. _

_-Alberto_

_P.S. - Do give this box to Mr. Kanda."_

Lenalee picked the box up and handed it to Kanda. "Open it, it's for you."

As Kanda began to open it, Lavi and Lenalee leaned closer to see what was in there. And there it was, The Blue Knight's Costume. There was a black cloth that only revealed two holes which he assumed were for his eyes. Inside there was also armor that covered his upper body the color of a dark blue; it managed to shine once he picked it up. Regular black pants accompanied by boots which were railed with a touch of silver. It hadn't been full-body plate armor, but then again, Kanda saw that as a blessing.

Below it all, was another note, which Kanda read aloud;

"_Mr. Kanda, _

_I do hope that this original costume of The Blue Knight will fit you. _

_Do try it on._

_-Alberto_

_P.S. - You already have the sword." _Kanda groaned at the thought of him wearing something so ancient.

--

Lavi snickered at the thought of seeing Kanda in the knight's costume. Lenalee and he had been waiting outside of Kanda's room to see what he looked like.

"Yuu-chan! Hurry up, we wanna see!" Lavi knocked on Kanda's door for what seemed the millionth time. They waited for a response, but they heard nothing.

"Yuu?" Lavi busted the door open to find Kanda was gone; only his exorcist robes were left behind.

"He ran off again?" Lenalee crossed her arms. It was unbelievable! Just the other day she had talked to him about this problem. It was as if her words went into one of his ears and out of the other.

A faint scream was heard, followed by an explosion.

"I think we have bigger problems." Lavi dashed out the window followed by Lenalee. They ran towards the source of the explosion.

--

Kanda dug Muugen into the Akuma's back; blood spilling. The people who had run away from the scene had begun to emerge from their hiding, to their surprise; they found Kanda, who had defeated the monster.

"I knew it! I knew the blue knight would return! He has saved our town once again!" A man expressed, followed by cheers of the town's people.

Kanda, controlling himself from making more blood spill, realized that he was at fault. In an attempt to stop the Akuma from causing more damage, he hadn't changed from the blue knight's costume.

"You're alive!" The maiden who he saved from the Akuma had planted a kiss on Kanda's cheek before he could react. Tears welted up one her face, for the city's hero had been right in front of her.

Kanda ignored the woman's tears and backed away. He returned Muugen into his case, in an attempt to control his instinct. The crowd had begun to gang up on Kanda, and began praising him for his "deed".

'_What's wrong with these people?' _Kanda continued to back away, and was about to grab his katana out of its case and slash it into people's faces as a familiar face popped up.

"Oy, Ka-blue knight! Um…way to go! You're so awesome!" Lavi managed to grab Kanda from the center of the crowd, and Lenalee grabbed Kanda's other arm.

"But wait! Our hero, please answer our questions!" With that, they ran.

--  
"Those people really think you're the blue knight, Kanda!" Lenalee said through huffs as they hid in one of Venice's alleys. They had been catching their breath from running away from the crazed blue knight fans.

"Those idiots." Kanda removed the eye mask from his face, disgusted by such a stupidity that this whole commotion was about.

"Aw Yuu, don't be harsh on them! The knight was their hero, we might as well respect what they must be going through, believing that their hero has returned." Lavi pointed out. "I mean, apparently, you look like him."

"That doesn't mean I am him."

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**A/N-** Will update as soon as I can, and I'd like to thank those of you who have reviewed.

As always, reviews are appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Long time, so sorry about the wait!

Enjoy.

**Disclaimer- -Man and all its characters belong to Hoshino Katsura. No Profit was made from writing this story, I own nothing but the tale of the blue knight, the plot of this story, fictional Venice, Italy, and the towns people themselves.**

* * *

_"And so I am to become a knight of the kingdom of dreams and shadows!"- Mark Twain_

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**Chapter 3**

They set off to Alberto's home as soon as the coast was clear. The afternoon had by that time set in, and on the way to Alberto's home, the walk back was fairly silent. Kanda had seemed as though he was lost in his trail of thought; Lavi had been watching the gondolas depart with couples in them sighing as though he would have liked to be on a gondola instead of the silent walk back; while Lenalee had been watching the two boys from behind, perhaps trying to figure out what they were thinking.

The _Ponte dei Sospiri_ had been the bridge they would have to cross in order to get to Alberto's home. It had been made of white limestone, accompanied by carvings and a tiny statue of the blue knight in the center of it all; in which the knight had a stallion. Below the bridge had been where Lavi had watched the couples ride the gondolas. It was the beginning of sunset, and the sight had been beautiful. Lenalee watched as the couples began to kiss as if they were given an exact cue to do so.

Kanda had at that point been ready to gag; while Lavi and Lenalee watched the sight in awe.

Another one of Venice's Legends she assumed.

----

After they crossed the bridge, they caught a glance at local children running around, playing with a soccer ball. The stones compressed with the ground in order to make a road had glowed due to the sunset's rays. As they walked, the little children that had been kicking the soccer ball, had miss-kicked their ball towards them.

The children began to run towards the ball that had landed by Kanda. He kicked it back towards them, and they grinned, "Thank you Mr. Blue knight!"

----

They were in the front of the house, and about to enter as Kanda stopped; his hand on the door knob, and eyed the other two. "I never wore this monstrosity."

"Sure thing boss." Lavi saluted. "Though, might I add, you look quite charming with the costume and mysterious with that eye mask!"

Lenalee giggled and received a glare from Kanda, who had been serious.

"Well, you do Kanda." Lenalee smiled.

"Shut up."

----

They had nothing better to do than wait for Alberto to return from finishing preparations. Kanda had gone to his room to change out of the "monstrosity" he had on; Lavi had been lying on the couch reading a book he found in the household; while Lenalee decided to prepare dinner, considering Alberto may be hungry when he returned. It was the least she assumed that she could do; he had provided them free shelter after all.

Kanda arrived from his room in a plain white button-up shirt and black slacks, accompanied by his boots. He sighed as he walked by Lavi; who had fallen asleep with the book he was reading covering his face. He noticed Lenalee was in the kitchen, and decided to see what she had been doing.

"So you're cooking now." Kanda eyed her, the pots, and back at her.

"Yes, I am." She smiled as she mixed what looked like a sauce. She began to add the sauce into the pan, which had chicken. "Did you bring the suitcases from the hotel?"

He nodded in return, and just stared at her concentrating on the dishes she had been preparing.

"What?" She raised one of her brows up.

"Well aren't you the expert." He sarcastically stated. "You've been hanging around Jerry way too much."

"What, would you rather eat regular or Jerry-fied food?" she had really wished that she could reach for the darned salt at that moment. By then she had been on her tippy-toes, and Kanda, much to her dismay, seemed amused.

All he had to do was raise his hand. He grabbed the salt, and added it himself. He snatched the spoon from her hand and finished the sauce off himself. She watched Kanda in awe, she hadn't known that he knew how to cook; and then again, she doubted that anyone did.

He continued to stir, and he caught Lenalee staring at him. "What?" It was his turn to ask.

"Huh?" She was startled.

"What're you staring at?"

"Um…you have some sauce on your face!"

"Don't you think I would've felt it? This shit is burning hot." He pointed out. Just how dumb did she think he was?

She couldn't help but giggle at Kanda's defense; which in return, gained her a "what the hell is wrong with you" from Kanda.

"What else were you going to make?" Kanda blankly asked.

She hadn't planned much of anything else; a dessert maybe, "Why do you ask?"

"It's not like there's anything else to do around here. Besides, I might as well learn a thing or two now form Jerry's 'apprentice'."

She smiled and answered his previous question, "Cupcakes."

"I dislike sweet things."

----

By the time the two had finished dessert, they had flour all over themselves. They placed the cupcake batter into the trays, but not before Lenalee had a taste of the batter.

"Not bad Chef Kanda, not bad at all." Lenalee grinned as she tasted the chocolate batter. "We make a good team."

Kanda managed to ignore her comment, as he noticed what a messy eater she was. "You have batter on your face."

"What?" she felt around her face; failing to even get near the batter.

"Here," Kanda reached for the edge of her mouth; with a stroke of his finger he removed the batter and stuck his finger in his own mouth.

He really disliked the taste, quickly regretting what he had just stuck in his mouth.

"What do we have here? Two young ones so close to each other covered in flour…hmm…"Alberto barged into the kitchen, as he said so in a teasing tone. "But that's beside the point."

Kanda quickly spaced himself from Lenalee, and if it hadn't been for Alberto, he would've had to explain himself for what he had done, for which he had no idea why to be honest with himself.

Then again, it bothered him, so he got rid of it. And by getting rid of it, he hadn't wasted what was apparently "good" cupcake batter. End of discussion, with himself he assumed.

----

"So you ran away, from your fans." Alberto sat on the other couch that hadn't had Lavi laid asleep on.

"How did you know?" Kanda directed his attention towards the elder.

"Well…let's just say word spreads like wild fire in the city of Venice."

Lenalee looked at Alberto, and back at Kanda. Assuming that Alberto's excuse had been good enough, she shrugged it off.

"I see…" Kanda dusted some flour he had on his shoulder.

"Yes, now Kanda my boy, I do believe you are in dire need of training! And by training, I mean socially." Alberto grabbed his bag, to reveal dolls.

"You can say that again!" Lavi awoke from his slumber and grinned.

"What?" Kanda glared at Lavi and Alberto; social skills? When did he need those? He was doing perfectly fine the way he was. Why would he want to be social, like his General Theodore had wanted? The less people that were around him, the better off he'd be.

"Well, you can be the blue knight doll; Lenalee can be the beautiful maiden; and Lavi can be the annoying little fan boy."

Kanda groaned; everyone but him seemed amused. The blue knight doll to be honest had looked like a mini Kanda in different clothes. Lenalee's doll had looked like that girl he had managed to save from the Akuma. Lavi's doll had looked as annoying as Lavi himself was.

"I'm kind of hungry though young ones, shall we eat?" Alberto stood, "Especially prepared by Ms. Lenalee and Mr. Kanda."

It was going to be a long night he wasn't looking forward to.

----

"That was the stupidest thing I ever had to do." Kanda slammed his door shut, completely irritated with everything about that evening.

"Well, at least you learned something?" Lavi tried to brighten up the mood. Kanda had still been pissed at the fact that he, Kanda, had to play dolls. "I mean come on Yuu-chan! I thought it was a cute idea!"

"You know what I've noticed?" Kanda picked up his katana. "I've let you slide for calling me by my given name. Besides, I need to let my rage out somehow."

"Um…Yu-Kanda! Sorry about that….ha ha!" Lavi picked up the doll he had been given. "Um, isn't he cute?"

The fact that Lavi had asked Kanda's opinion on whether or not some stupid doll was "cute", it was too much. To the conclusion, that was the last time the annoying little fan boy doll had a head.

----

The night had been wavering through the city with calm winds. Everything had been peaceful, that it was hard to believe that this city had previously had strange occurrences. Sighing, Kanda took a look at the box given to him by Alberto; containing the blue knight's costume. An eerie feeling arose as he picked up the costume's eye mask. What exactly had Alberto planned for him? There had to be more to this then just some festival. There just had to be. For the past two days, the town's people all managed to disappear at a certain time, and Alberto came home past the time everyone had disappeared into their homes. Not a soul would be out in the town when he'd explore the streets of Venice. It was a strange sight for such a city, to disappear into their homes while the night was still young.

He highly doubted that the old man had been preparing anything at all for the festival. Honestly, all day long for such a thing? The town itself had been messed up; it seemed that all they lived for had been the blue knight himself. While on the walk back to Alberto's home earlier, those children had addressed him by, "Mr. Blue knight." He had felt strange when they called him this, the name of such an important man. All that he knew of this man had been that he was the exact opposite of himself.

He halted his pacing and grabbing Muugen, opened the window he had previously left out the last night, and took a lantern along with him, _'Crazed fanatics or something more.'_

Everyone to his knowledge had been asleep.

----

The alleys he had looked into before had strange inscriptions along the ancient brick. Accompanied by them, a drawing of what he assumed had been people with orbs escaping their bodies. The picture itself had been a disturbing work of art, it had reminded him of the dark pictures in the old man's home.

"Libertà." Kanda raised his lantern to read the word. He hadn't known what it meant; he hadn't spoken any Italian. (Although he didn't need to; most of the town knew English.) The past night he had walked by the alleys, he hadn't had a lantern, failing to notice the strange writing on the walls.

He received that same feeling he had received when he picked up the mask.

He disliked it that he of all people felt a shiver of something that probably had no meaning. He tried to shrug it off as he walked out of the alley, back to Alberto's home.

----

"Mr. Allen?" Alberto started as he took a seat. "Thank you very much my friend for going along with it."

"No problem, I just hope that you know what you're doing."

"I believe he is the right one for the job."

"When will you tell him the truth?"

"I believe perhaps sooner than expected." He hung the phone up, and dug into a box filled with costumes, picking up an eye-mask.

_Time was catching up._

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**A/N-** As seen on my poll on my profile, you guys seem to want a happy ending!XD 100%

Well, I hope to update soon. Excuse the wait! :)


	4. Chapter 4

School's been a drag, so I'm sorry about the slow updates as of late. I beleve that school's the enemy...

Enjoy!

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_"Geography has made us neighbors. **History** has made us friends. Economics has made us **partners**, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder." –John Fitzgerald Kennedy_

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**C****hapter 4**

The waves gently swayed the gondolas in the calm atmosphere. Venice had just managed to meet the sun's rays, the sea glittering. All had been peaceful so early in the morning, nothing at all could disturb.

"SOMEONE GET THAT BLASTED CAT!" the cranky man from the butcher store yelled through the streets of Venice, lifting the peacefulness at the time to frantic. "YOU UNLUCKY BASTARD!" he swiped his broom, aimlessly striking at where the cat had been a few seconds ago. The cat continued to dash away from the angry man, and surprisingly dove into the water filled with gondolas. "GOOD RIDANCE TO YOU BLACK CAT!" He huffed, making his way to his shop.

----

Kanda groaned as he awoke from a splash of water. Rubbing his eyes, he realized he hadn't been at Alberto's home. Instead, he had been outside, in the middle of the normally busy city. It had been quite, and he almost forgot the cause of his awakening. He quickly stood up, dusting off dirt and such off himself while deciding to find out how he ended up outside later.

The splashing continued as Kanda approached his rude awakening. His eyes widened as he laid eyes on the stray cat, extending his little paws towards him. Kanda, without thinking, kneeled at the edge of the port and extended his hand to the stray. He managed to pull the cat up, completely soaking wet. He'd been confused at what this cat had been doing in the sea, while the stray had been looking as though if he could sigh in relief, he would.

Kanda stared at the sight in front of him; the cat had been trying to dry himself off. The exorcist had silently examined the cat's appearance. He had been black, and oddly enough had himself blue eyes. The cat noted Kanda's had been staring at him, and walked towards him, while Kanda eyed the feline's every movement.

"Aren't you supposed to be 'bad luck'?" Kanda looked around making sure no one had been watching. He picked the drenched cat up, and began his way towards Alberto's home. "I highly doubt you bring bad luck to anyone but yourself."

----

As Kanda walked the streets of Venice everyone gasped at the sight of a black cat in his arms. The cat in his arms had oddly settled, allowing a complete stranger to take him somewhere the cat hadn't known. A black cat in the city of Venice wasn't very welcome as Kanda noted. He didn't believe in the whole bad luck deal. It was complete and utter rubbish to him.

"My savior blue knight! It is him!" A woman pointed out, "He wears his eye mask! He's finally returned!" Everything from pots to pans had met the floor, everyone running towards Kanda. "A BLACK CAT! OUR HERO IS IN DANGER!"

"What the-?" Kanda shifted the cat to his left arm, and felt his face. 'What am I doing wearing the eye mask? I don't remember putting it on.' He completely ignored the town's people's gasps of the black cat he held in his arms.

"You idiots! Can you not see? The legendary black cat with piercing blue eyes is the blue knight's own partner!" None other than Alberto had appeared, "Azuro, do you all not remember? Nearly all of the blue knight's deeds had been achieved with the help of Azuro!"

They all nodded in awe, some in shame of not remembering this equally famous sly cat. They all turned to see the knight and his cat but were too late. Kanda had already left the hectic part of the city, failing to hear Alberto's explanation of the cat he had in his arms.

----

It was irritating. The last time he remembered, he had already managed to crawl into his bed and fell to sleep. Nothing that had to do with the blue knight had been near him, and yet here he was, wearing the eye mask and holding some strange cat he found in the ocean of all places. Venice so far hadn't been the place he wanted to be at the moment.

He realized that the cat he had rescued from the sea had still been in his arms. He found it strange how the cat hadn't at the very least attempted to scratch him, or at the very least try to wiggle out of his grip. He assumed that this had been a good place for the cat to stay, away from water (well, as far away from water as possible in the water city). He knelt down and placed the cat on the ground, "Next time you fall into water, you won't be lucky."

After that, he walked away, the cat's blue orbs following his every step.

----

Kanda glanced at the clock once he arrived in Alberto's home. That was about all he could do once he entered, annoyed that he of all people had been outside, with the eye mask of all things placed on him. He hadn't remembered at all putting it one, nor did he remember when he all of a sudden decided to sleep outside wearing it.

His thoughts were interrupted, "Where were you, Yuu?" Lavi couldn't help but giggle at his sentence. "But seriously."

"I don't even know."

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**A/N-** **Yes, I know. UNBELIEVEABLY SHORT. BUT! This short chapter is necessary.**

Reviews are always appreaciated. :)


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